Looking ahead to COP19 and future international climate negotiations:

2013/05/24: RTCC: Ashton: Help Obama sidestep Congress and sign UN climate deal
World governments should help President Obama to circumvent domestic opposition to a global, binding deal on climate change, the UK’s former climate change ambassador has said. John Ashton warned that US attempts to build support for the new 2015 UN climate treaty to be voluntary must be resisted. Instead diplomatic efforts should be made to “creatively” include the country in a legal agreement.

2013/05/22: BBC: Wildlife stocktake highlights UK’s most threatened species
Some 60% of British animal and plant species have declined in the past 50 years, and one in 10 could disappear, a stocktake of UK nature suggests. The State of Nature report, compiled by 25 wildlife organisations – from the RSPB to the British Lichen Society – collates assessments of 3,148 species. It offers clues to the fate of the UK’s 59,000 species.

Various psychological angles arise in considerations of the ecological crisis:

It is evident that the Fukushima disaster is going to persist for some time. TEPCO says 6 to 9 months. The previous Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, said decades. Now the Japanese government is talking about 30 years. [Whoops, that has now been updated to 40 years.]
And the IAEA is now saying 40 years too.
We’ll see.
At any rate this situation is not going to be resolved any time soon and deserves its own section.
Meanwhile…
It is very difficult to know for sure what is really going on at Fukushima. Between the company [TEPCO], the Japanese government, the Japanese regulator [NISA], the international monitor [IAEA], as well as independent analysts and commentators, there is a confusing mish-mash of information. One has to evaluate both the content and the source of propagated information.
How knowledgeable are they [about nuclear power and about Japan]?
Do they have an agenda?
Are they pro-nuclear or anti-nuclear?
Do they want to write a good news story?
Do they want to write a bad news story?
Where do they rate on a scale of sensationalism?
Where do they rate on a scale of play-it-down-ness?
One fundamental question I would like to see answered:
If the reactors are in meltdown, how can they be in cold shutdown?

Not much good news coming out of Fukushima:

2013/05/26: ABC(Au): Nuclear Farming
More than two years on from the massive earthquake and series of tsunamis that triggered the meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant, some Japanese farmers are returning to their fields, in an effort to rebuild their livelihoods.

2013/05/20: RT: Rice seeds sown in former Fukushima evacuation zone
Farmers in Fukushima have started planting rice in the former radioactive no-go zone, as close as 15 km from the TEPCO plant which suffered a meltdown in March 2011. They intend to sell the grain for mass consumption. The first sowing was on Saturday in Tamura’s Miyakojimachi district which had been part of the Fukushima evacuation zone- where locals are still banned from staying overnight. Three farms have plans to seed six hectares. Immediately following the accident, the area was completely sealed off, but day-visits without authorization became possible in April last year.

2013/05/16: G&M: Violent Arctic storm a climate-change ‘harbinger,’ study finds
The Inuvialuit living in the Mackenzie Delta of the Northwest Territories watched incredulously in September of 1999, as a particularly violent storm swept the Arctic Ocean 20 kilometres inland, killing all vegetation in its path and leaving lakes infused with salt water. Local elders said nothing like it had ever happened in the known history of their people – and it turns out they were right.

The forced evacuation of the Russian Arctic Research Station is an iconic image:

2013/05/21: BBC: Irish potato famine pathogen identified
Scientists have used plant samples collected in the mid-19th Century to identify the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine. A plant pest that causes potato blight spread to Ireland in 1845 triggering a famine that killed one million people.

The bees and Colony Collapse Disorder are a constant concern:

2013/05/21: EurActiv: Pesticide firms compete to showcase bee-protection programmes
Monsanto’s “Bee Summits” and Bayer AG’s “Bee care centre” are the latest examples of how pesticide makers are competing to showcase their goodwill to policymakers in Europe and the US that they are taking the necessary steps to protect bee populations. The companies say their pesticides are not the problem, but critics say science shows the opposite.

And then there are the world’s forests:

2013/05/23: ABC(Au): Wildlife group busts illegal loggers in Cambodia
An illegal logger in Cambodia has dropped an address book during a bust, leaving behind details of corrupt government officials and spying rangers. The man fled after being intercepted by police over an illegal haul of rare rosewood in Koh Kong province earlier this month. Beth Eisenstaedt from Wildlife Alliance helped coordinate the bust and has told Radio Australia’s Connect Asia the perpetrator left behind an address book of his clients and an accounts book including details of bribes.

Climate refugees are becoming an issue:

2013/05/24: RadioNZ: Kiribati welcomes chance to highlight climate change plight
The vice president of Kiribati, Teima Onorio, says consultations on legal protections for those displaced by natural disasters are an opportunity for Kiribati to focus attention on climate change. One of those involved in the Nansen Initiative, Swiss academic and human rights expert, Professor Walter Kaelin, says people forced to cross borders by natural disaster are not refugees because they are not being persecuted. He says the Nansen Initiative aims to develop a legal framework to cover these people.

As for heatwaves and wild fires:

2013/05/23: al Jazeera: India heats up
High temperatures are making every day life extremely difficult in many cities. Blistering heat is affecting much of central and northern India ahead of the summer monsoon rains. Temperatures are generally around four or five degrees above average both by day and by night. New Delhi has seen temperatures up around 45 Celsius over the last three day and dip no lower than 30C overnight. Wednesday’s maximum of 45.6C was a new record for the month of May. Meanwhile, Nagpur saw the mercury rise to 47.9C, but top of the table were Ganganagar and Chandrapur hitting highs of 48.2C. Locals have been struggle to cope, and there has been a surge in the number of heat stroke patients at the hospitals.

Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

2013/05/24: CBC: Leader of B.C. ocean fertilization project fired
First Nation still backs iron dump off coast of Haida Gwaii The California businessman behind a controversial ocean fertilization project off B.C.’s west coast has been fired, but the group behind the project says it still supports the concept. Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation says it has removed Russ George as a director and terminated his employment as an officer of the Haida Gwaii-based corporation. But newly-appointed interim CEO John Disney says the company remains confident in the iron dumping technology, while recognizing “process and buy-in are key.”

Now that the EU-ETS for airlines is in year long limbo, will it ever be resurrected?

2013/05/20: RTCC: WWF: EU must hold nerve on aviation climate deal
The EU must not back down from its threat to “restart the clock” on including international airlines in its emissions trading scheme, WWF has warned. The EU attracted the ire of a number of emerging economies including Brazil, India and China, after it stipulated that any flight landing or taking off from an EU airport had to account for its emissions in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). It dropped the rule with the so-called ‘stop the clock’ announcement last November but warned it would return if “significant progress” was not made this year at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Official talks on a global emissions market for aviation will resume in the next few weeks at ICAO, ahead of the body’s General Assembly in September.

In the global competition for Rare Earths and other natural resources:

2013/05/19: CSM: Water may reshape energy industry
There is a broad and growing consensus that freshwater is undervalued. It is a limited, but vital, commodity without a price. In nearly every region the price of water is the cost of water access rights, treatment costs, and transportation costs. There is no price or market for the water itself. That will begin to change. Prolonged drought and overuse have depleted freshwater reserves at the same time that demand is rising rapidly. The resulting imbalance has some projections of demand for freshwater exceeding supply by as much as 40% by 2030 . Increasingly, water starved regions have begun to look to ways to both reduce overall use and to prioritize different types of use. While there are a number of policy approaches, one that seems to have wide support is the idea of regional exchanges where water could be priced (with adjustments for preferred uses) and sold.

And on the groundwater front:

2013/05/22: TexasTrib: Ogallala Aquifer in Texas Panhandle Suffers Big Drop
The Ogallala Aquifer suffered its second-worst drop since at least 2000 in a large swath of the Texas Panhandle, new measurements show. The closely watched figures, published this week by the High Plains Underground Water Conservation District, cover a 16-county area stretching from south of Lubbock to Amarillo. The Ogallala wells measured by the district experienced an average drop of 1.87 feet from 2012 to 2013. That makes it one of the five or 10 worst drops in the district’s more than 60-year history, said Bill Mullican, a hydrogeologist with the district.

And in Europe:

2013/05/24: CBC: EU pushes through restrictions to protect bees
Legislative body approves limits on pesticides to protect dwindling bee population The European Union has approved restrictions on three pesticides to better protect dwindling bee populations, to enter into force by December. EU Health Commissioner Tonio Borg called Friday’s decision a “milestone towards ensuring a healthier future for our honeybees.” The move is backed by environmentalists but opposed by chemical companies.

Meanwhile in Australia:

2013/05/25: ABC(Au): Joe Ludwig launches national food plan to grow industry
Federal Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig has unveiled a new plan designed to grow the local food industry and put Australia on the world food map. First promised in the 2010 election campaign, the National Food Plan includes a multi-million-dollar research fund to help Australian producers capitalise on the so-called Asian “dining boom”. There is also funding to better brand Australian food exports.

2013/05/23: ABC(Au): Rubbish power plant approved by WA Government
A power plant that would convert rubbish to electricity in the north-west of Western Australia has been approved by the State Government. The New Energy plant is slated for development near the town of Port Hedland, and would turn over 250,000 tonnes of waste a year into gas. That would then be burnt to produce 15 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 21,000 homes.

2013/05/22: ABC(Au): Plan to protect community from sea level rise
Lake Macquarie Council has started work on a plan to protect Marks Point and other lakeside suburbs from flooding as a result of rising sea levels. Council says it has begun the community consultation process on the adaptation plan which will take 18 months to complete.

2013/05/21: ABC(Au): GhostNets funding goes missing at sea
An organisation which removes abandoned fishing nets from oceans will shut down at the end of June because of a lack of funding. Since 2002, GhostNets Australia has removed more than 12,000 fishing nets, saving thousands of sea creatures. Working closely with Indigenous communities and Indigenous ranger groups, the project has won a number of innovation and environmental awards. Project co-ordinator Riki Gunn says the Federal Government’s decision to pull funding is upsetting for everyone involved.

2013/05/21: ABC(Au): Academic urges united approach to climate change
A Gold Coast academic says there needs to be a consistent, long-term approach to dealing with climate change. Professor Brendan Mackey from the Griffith Climate Change Response Program says the lead-up to September’s federal election would be a good time for all parties to commit to a united approach. Professor Mackey says the Opposition could be right in rejecting the carbon tax but policies need time to work and be assessed.

After years of wrangling, the Murray Darling Basin plan is in place, but the water management fights are far from finished:

2013/05/26: ABC(Au): Academic surveys farmers about ‘water banking’
A survey of more than 200 farmers in the Namoi Catchment has found two-thirds support the idea of storing surplus water from large floods underground. The survey was conducted by the National Centre for Goundwater Research and Training. The process – called water banking – can potentially be used to re-charge depleted water aquifers.

2013/05/22: ABC(Au): Water broker says less money for buybacks
The Federal Government will spend less money on water buybacks and infrastructure investment in the Murray-Darling Basin in the next financial year. Spending on the Sustainable Water Use and Infrastructure item in this year’s Budget is down by about half a billion dollars.

While in the Indian subcontinent:

And in China:

2013/05/21: Independent(UK): China agrees to impose carbon targets by 2016
Beijing’s thaw over greenhouse gases seen as major step in battling climate change The battle against global warming has received a transformational boost after China, the world’s biggest producer of carbon dioxide, proposed to set a cap on its greenhouse gas emissions for the first time. Under the proposal China, which is responsible for a quarter of the world’s carbon emissions, would put a ceiling on greenhouse gas emissions from 2016…

2013/05/22: RT: China going green? World’s no. 1 polluter to cap emissions by 2016
China has agreed to cap greenhouse emissions by 2016, after previously refusing to commit to global guidelines. Beijing’s regime change signaled a move to a greener policy, as rising levels of toxic pollution in China are suffocating industrial centers. China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) – the government organ responsible for socio-economic growth planning – announced the initiative, which must now be approved by the Cabinet before it is enacted.

The Justin Trudeau’s Liberal leadership race was notable for how few his policy pronouncements were. Sooner or later, what he stands for will come out:

2013/05/23: CBC: Trudeau raises environmental questions over pipeline
[…]
The federal Liberal leader told the CBC’s Information Morning Fredericton on Thursday he has specific questions about potential toxins that may be used in the pipeline. “I think it is a proposal that is extremely interesting. We are waiting to look at how they are going to deal with both the community, local, aboriginal concerns and the environmental concerns,” Trudeau said.

While in Saskatchewan:

2013/05/25: BBerg: Deep Earth Plans Canada’s First Geothermal Power Amid Oil Wells
Deep Earth Energy Production Corp., a closely help developer, is planning Canada’s first geothermal power plant that will tap into heat resources underneath oil and natural gas fields in Saskatchewan, according to Chief Executive Officer Kirsten Marcia. The project may cost C$35 million ($33.9 million) and would have 5 megawatts of generating capacity, Marcia said today in a telephone interview. Construction is expected to begin in 2014.

2013/05/21: BBerg: Keystone Lobby Works on Democrats to Win Obama: Corporate Canada
Canadian energy producers lobbying for U.S. approval of the Keystone XL pipeline are targeting undecided Democratic lawmakers in Washington in advance of a decision on the $5.3 billion project. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, which represents more than 100 energy producers including Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. (COS) and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM)’s Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO), will travel to the U.S. capital next month to promote TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s plan to carry Alberta oil-sands crude to Gulf Coast refineries. A decision by U.S. President Barack Obama on the pipeline is expected this year.

2013/05/23: RawStory: Republican congressman fined $500 over sexual misconduct
Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) was fined on Thursday in connection to inappropriate sexual affairs with his patients. Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners hit the pro-life Republican and doctor with a $500 fine and reprimand. The medical ethics board held DesJarlais violated Tennessee law by having affairs with at least two woman while serving as their physician more than a decade ago. “I take responsibility for past mistakes and am happy to get this resolved,” DesJarlais told The Tennessean. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed the medical complaint against DesJarlais in 2012 after several news reports detailed the affairs. Desjarlais was accused of pressuring one of the women into get an abortion.

As for podcasts:

Meanwhile among the ‘Sue the Bastards!’ contingent:

2013/05/23: BBerg: Texas Farmers Lose Another Bid to Block Keystone Pipeline
TransCanada Corp. won another of the remaining Texas state-court challenges by landowners trying to block construction of the Keystone XL tar-sands pipeline across their property. A state appeals court in Beaumont, Texas, denied a bid by David Holland and his partners in a southeast Texas rice farm to overturn a lower-court order that let TransCanada install its pipeline before the landowners’ appeals were completed.

A rush of American triumphalism pervades the energy independence PR campaign. Think it will last?

2013/05/23: EurActiv: Cheap shale gas bubble ‘will burst within 2-4 years': Expert
The current shale gas boom which has bathed the US economy in cheap energy will soon go bust, a former gas industry geologist has told EurActiv. The future of shale gas in Europe was high on the agenda at an EU summit in Brussels yesterday (22 May), with leaders stressing the “crucial” role that such indigenous energy resources could play in reviving industry. But according to David Hughes, a geoscientist and former team leader on unconventional gas for the Canadian Potential Gas Committee, the US boom on which many base their expectations is founded on shifting sands.

The answer my friend…:

2013/05/23: BBC: Google acquires kite-power generator, Makani Power
Google has acquired a US company that generates power using turbines mounted on tethered kites or wings. Makani Power will become part of Google X – the secretive research and development arm of the search giant. The deal comes as Makani carries out the first fully autonomous flights of robot kites bearing its power-generating propellers.

2013/05/19: IndiaTimes: Thousands rally against nuclear power in Taiwan
Taipei: Thousands of Taiwanese marched through the capital Taipei on Sunday urging the government to halt construction of a nearly completed nuclear power plant, citing the Japanese atomic crisis. The demonstrators chanted slogans like “No Nuke for Our Children” during the march which extended for miles as they evoked memories of the March 2011 Fukushima crisis sparked by an earthquake and tsunami. Police estimates of the turnout were not immediately available while the organisers claimed 30,000 people took part. They said some protesters would hold an overnight sit-in outside parliament.

2013/05/20: BBerg: How to Humble a Wing Nut
[…]
Their central finding is that if you ask people to explain exactly why they think as they do, they discover how much they don’t know — and they become more humble and therefore more moderate.

Low Key Plug

My first novel Water was published in Canada May, 2007. The American release was in October. An Introductionto the novel is available, along with the Unpublished Forewordand the Launch Talk(which includes some quotations), An overview of my writing is available here.

A Simple Plea

Webmasters, web coders and content providers have mercy on your low bandwidth brethren. Because I am on dial-up, I am a text surfer — no images, no javascript and no flash. When you post a graphic, will you please use the alt text field … and when you embed a youtube/vimeo/flash video, please add some minimal description. Thank you.

<regards>

-het

P.S. Recent postings can be found in the week archive and the ancient postings can be accessed here, which should open to this.